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Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V

1803, Engraving
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V
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Library Item
Item no
40221
Title
Shakspeare [Shakespeare]. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V, Scene V
Description
PISTOL: A trial, come.
SIR HUGH EVANS: Come, will this wood take fire?/ They burn him with their tapers
FALSTAFF: Oh, Oh, Oh!
MISTRESS QUICKLY: Corrupt, corrupt, and tainted in desire!/ About him, fairies; sing a scornful rhyme;/ And, as you trip, still pinch him to your time.

The grand finale, the last joke on Falstaff. All the main characters of the play gather to play a trick on the fat knight. In this eerie scene, we have a circular composition. The character, Pistol stands menacingly in the centre in front of an oak tree. He is disguised as a hobgoblin with a torch in his hand. Falstaff is disguised as Herne, ghost of the forest with antlers on his head. He came to the forest to once again try and seduce one of the wealthy ladies, but he is now cowering on the ground in fear of the fairies (pupils wearing masks). They are burning him to test if he is evil. On Falstaff’s left is Mistress Quickly, dressed as queen of the fairies, and to her left, next to the tree are Mrs Page and Mrs Ford laughing to each other, clearly enjoying the scene. Behind it all, on the right Anne Page’s plot is also rounding up as she steals away with Fenton, her love, to marry in secret.
Engraver
Isaac Taylor
Date
1803
Size
63.5 x 50 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
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